Aqua Illusion
by Warrior of Ice
Summary: The Prince of the West is fond of taking quiet walks near the surface of a secret lake, and one night, he discovers a hauntingly beautiful woman who may hold the key to his soul--and to his love. The only problem is, she isn't quite what she seems...


Written quite a while ago...a sweet but rather pointless story sometimes considered a fairytale. For Kaze, who wanted it put up again and gives me wonderful compliments and support ^^ as well as new reading material. :)  
  
Aqua Illusion  
Zoicite of the West had plainly fallen for a maiden, and it was the talk of the kingdom that their prince of ice had finally found love. Except they weren't quite sure who it was, but the greatest gossip of the town was determined to find out who it was.   
"I hearsay that when his best friend, the King of the North, visited with his new wife, beautiful creature, absolutely breathtaking, was shocked to find such a change come over our prince. Pale skin almost tan, chinks of green ice coming to life."  
"Come, Miranda, that surely isn't possible," scoffed a lady out for the morning's shopping. A gaggle of harpies were out in front of the greengrocer's.   
The plump woman insisted, "I swear it! King Kunzite was indeed shocked, and he's sent for the last two of the Four Kings! He also wasn't paying attention to anything, and word has it that for once, his tutor has became dissatisfied with his royal student's work! Daydreaming in class, 'e says. Heard it from his sister when I went to have tea with her just a week ago!"  
Skeptically raising her eyebrows, yet another housewife joined them, toting a child, a basket, and holding the hand of yet another child's. "Really? Perhaps they just want to have a conference, Miranda. And did it ever occur to you that people don't always daydream for love?"  
"Move along there ladies, please, you're blocking the doorway and my customers." With those semi-polite words, the greengrocer wiped his dirt-caked hands on his apron and shooed them away from the front of his store (at least the ones that had finished the haggling at his shop), but that didn't mean that the rumors had ended. No, the situation was far from it.  
~~~*~~~  
"Ho, Jadeite!" called a smiling brown-haired man. He was the second of the Four Kings, Nephrite of the South. He had chosen to pack lightly and was currently riding his favorite mount, Aquila, named for the constellation of the eagle.   
Waving and sending a grin in return, Jadeite of the East knew they were in for an interesting fortnight. Even Endymion, who rarely strayed far from Elysion, was bringing his sister, of whom he was highly protective of. In fact, none of them remembered ever seeing her, but the Prince of the Earth (his overall title) had said they had the same color but that Rei had purple eyes. Behind Jadeite sat his cousin, one of his two cousins, actually. Princess Serenity also sent a friendly beam towards Nephrite, on her white horse Luna. The trio of cousins were all blond-haired and blue-eyed, although the shades of blond and eye color varied. Serenity and Jadeite had nearly the same shade, Mina's was just a bit lighter. The first of the three had light blue eyes, the second azure, and the last, a cheery cornflower blue. Mina had met Kunzite when the solemn, silver-haired man had come to see one of his good friends, and the two had fell in love. Jadeite had smirked a great deal at their wedding and even before, giving them his full blessing. He now drew his horse closer to Nephrite's and asked softly, "Do you think what all the villagers have been whispering about is true?"  
"Why, Jade, you actually paid attention to them?" he asked in return, surprised.  
Grinning wider and flashing him a roguish wink, the prince laughed off, "They were women, that was why."  
Serenity gave her cousin a reproving look, overhearing everything. "Nephrite, it's a pleasure to see you again. Still not married?"  
"Likewise for such a fair beauty as you, Serenity." He smiled as she blushed. They were just friends, but he could be as charming and gentlemanly (more) as Jadeite when he wanted to be. "No, I fear that I doomed to become...er...the opposite of an old maid."  
"Hey, I resent that!" she told him, blue eyes twinkling. "Nevermind, we've all got a lot of time left. So what did Kunzite say that brought us all here in such a hurry?"  
Jadeite ducked to avoid her slap when he said, "You didn't have to come, Sere, but you did anyway. Joking, joking!"  
Trying to refrain from laughing, Nephrite told them, "To put it simply, our silver-haired commander says he's flipped."  
"Flipped, eh? That's not a surprise, Zoi was always a litte batty," other man mumbled under his breath.  
He had to veer away from the golden-haired princess as she reached out again. "Just because you're not as studious, smart, or handsome as Zoicite is-"  
"Are we talking about the same guy?"  
"JADE!!"  
The Prince of the South smiled, things were back to normal once more. As they continued up towards the palace, he knew they were in for a pleasant and noisy visit. While his sharp, dark blue eyes took in nearly everything, he missed a wisp of fog, a hint of blue in the trees...  
~~~*~~~  
"So, Zoi, what's she like?" asked Mina, smiling secretively. She loved playing matchmaker...her husband started and sent her a warning look, but she just shook out her long blond tresses and pretended to ignore him.  
Meanwhile, the Prince of the West choked and tried not to upset his inkstand. "What? She?" Despite the very real shock in his tone, Zoicite's brilliant green eyes grew dreamy and lost their alertness while Kunzite and Mina shot each other triumphant looks.   
The King of the North really had to hand it to his wife sometimes. "Zoi, don't try denying it. We all know you've fallen in love..."  
"No, I haven't. But there is this one lady..."  
Rolling his eyes, the silver-haired one inquired, "And may I ask her name? Where she's from?"  
"I don't know, I haven't spoken to her."  
Blinking, the recently-crowned Queen of the North sat down in a chair to digest this. Calm, level-headed Zoicite had actually fallen for someone he'd never met? The Fates definitely had their little pinkies in this pie...and that meant that this girl was surely someone that would make them all sit up and take notice. "Do you at least know what she looks like?"  
Hazily, he replied, "Oh yes...she was magnificent blue hair, shining, lustrous...and eyes of the same medium blue, glinting with intelligence, and wisdom...yet she's so sad. I can see it in her eyes."  
"You've gotten close enough to get a good look at her eyes but haven't talked to her?" Now Kunzite had to agree with Jadeite, his best friend and the youngest of the Four Kings was definitely going off his rocker.   
However, he was saved from answering when Endymion burst in, grinning, dragging a protesting, beautiful girl behind him. "Endy, I don't think it's really that proper to just burst in, no matter how good of a friend they are..."  
"Hey, Endy!" Both Kunzite and Zoicite sprang up to give him a good hard slap on the back, and once the ebony-haired prince had stopped reeling, he was able to give Mina a kiss on the cheek.  
"Dear, dear, Endymion, you're still as handsome as ever," the golden-haired goddess grinned teasingly, she could sense Kunzite's jealousy across the room now, "but your manners seem to have taken a turn for the worse."  
"What?"  
Pointedly, Zoicite said, "You have yet to introduce, at least formally introduce, your sister to us. Princess Rei, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."  
Her pale skin was warmed to a rose color as the two kissed her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Really, Endy, I don't understand why you confine me to the palace at Elysion!"  
"There are dangerous men out there, and I'm protecting my little sister," Endymion told them defensively.  
Rei shot back at him, "While the vultures out there circle for their prey? I can take very good care of myself, thank you."  
The other woman in the room smiled, she definitely liked her fiery spirit. "Rei, if I may call you that, it's also a pleasure. I'm Mina, since my kind husband and his friends have forgotten to introduce me, but I've just barely married Kunzite."  
The raven-haired girl analyzed her sharply for a minute before returning the smile. "Yes, you may. And don't worry, I've grown up with my brother and his inconsiderate ways."  
Endymion's protests were cut off when three more burst in, a profusion of hugs, kisses, and pats on the back went around. This time, shooting a look at his giggling wife, Kunzite said, "Princess Rei, allow me to introduce-this time-the Prince of the East, Jadeite, and his cousin, the Princess Serenity. And the last one is our Fourth King, although not yet crowned because he has not married *ahem*, Nephrite of the South."  
Grumpily, Nephrite told them all quite vocally, "Stop making such a big deal of it. Besides, Kunz, the wedding was all Mina's doing-if she hadn't insisted, you'd probably have waited another century or two."  
*dryly* "I'm not sure if that's a compliment, Neph..."  
"Mina, beautiful as you're looking and jealous as Kunzite is getting, I'm not sure if it's one either..."  
"JADEITE!!!"  
~~~*~~~  
That night, the Princess Lita, who was a very distant cousin of Zoicite's, arrived. A gigantic banquet commenced to honor the guests, and their slightly-lonely host snuck away from the scenes. Endymion and Serenity had gotten along very well, Rei and Jadeite were flirting (much to the former's brother's chagrin), Lita and Nephrite were conversing animatedly (the second was no longer enduring threats and bribes from his friends to get married), and he was pretty sure that Mina and Kunzite were walking hand-in-hand in a garden nearby. The one Zoicite was journeying to was a more private and secluded one, on the edge of a shimmering lake. The full moon shed its silver light elegantly, magically. Pretty soon, the one he desired to see appeared. She was like a sprite, a nymph, gracefully skimming across the surface. She was filled with an ethereal and slightly unreal light, resembling shadows, but not dark ones. Poetry and music filled the long, fair-haired prince's head as he watched her. She stopped her midnight wanderings to come over to him and peer at him curiously, shyly, tucking veils of fog around her until only her large blue eyes were visible. Before, though, Zoicite had caught a glimpse of delicate, pink, petal-like lips, pale skin, and a pert nose. Before she could leave, as she did every night when the sun started its ascend into the sky, he bowed to her and said, "Gentle lady, please don't go. Tell me about yourself."  
Looking at him sadly, for the first time, she whispered softly, "I cannot."  
"You talk! Can you at least tell me your name?" he pleaded, desperately.  
Smiling down on him so that Zoicite felt an angel blessed him, she chose not to answer and sped away on the surface once more. His dreamy gaze faltered when the sun started rising, her form became to shine with the same unearthly glow that made her all the more mysterious, beautiful, and attractive. A last wisp of fog reached him, and a crystalline voice whispered in his ear, "Ami. My name is Ami."  
~~~*~~~  
On the whole, Miranda was thoroughly shocked and delighted at the state of things in the Western Prince's palace. The idle chatter around the town reached her ears:  
"So it's true, then, that the Prince of Elysion and the Earth has fallen for the Princess Serenity? Yes, I believe it, what an excellent pair they make."  
"They look so well together, but I hear that the Prince Nephrite has fallen for Prince Zoicite's distant cousin, a brunette beauty with the liveliest green eyes you've ever seen..."  
"That's right, they say her name is 'Lita.' Pretty name, isn't it? But that isn't all, the Queen of the North is rumored to have set up Prince Endymion's younger sister with Prince Jadeite..."  
"The one they call lovingly 'the Firebrand?'"  
"None other! She's a real beauty, like the Queen Mina, no wonder Endymion kept her away from the eyes of the public, alabaster white skin, long raven tresses, and the eyes..."  
"Indeed, the eyes, it's heard that the Prince of the East could talk of no other. Like living amethysts, it's said."  
She swooped in with jubilation and delight on the usual crowd, adding to the grapevine. "The servants at the palace tell me that each night the Prince Zoicite goes out until dawn, and his eyes are getting bags and dark circles!"  
The brought a new hush of whispers, exclamations, and theories. "You don't think he has a lover, do you?"  
"I doubt it, our shy prince? He probably gazes at his chosen hopelessly the whole night with her never knowing. Who do you think the lucky girl is??"  
But it was that question that was on everyone's minds, no matter if they wanted it there or not. Particularly, the Four Kings, their ruler, and the four women at the palace were puzzled but certainly not in the position to ponder when they were all entangled in love lives themselves...except one lady they called the reincarnate of the goddess Aphrodite.  
~~~*~~~  
Zoicite settled down on the hard ground for another night, mindless of the grass stains on his velvet pants. His green tunic that matched his emerald eyes wonderfully had the sleeves rolled up impatiently, a few twigs and leaves brushed off now. He wanted to ask more...more...every night he was permitted to ask one question, and she answered only that one while still leaving a flair of mystery. For example:  
"Where do you come from, Lady Ami?"  
"From the ocean, from the seas, and from the element water itself," she smiled.  
"Who are you parents, Lady Ami?"  
"The two who bore me. The ones that rule all that is liquid."  
"Then Lady Ami, are they a king and queen?"  
She smiled that smile of hers he had grown to love, to yearn for. Softly, she replied, "In a sense, my lord. Prince Zoicite of the West."  
"Lady Ami, how do you know that I am the Prince of the West?"  
"There are a great many things I know, Prince Zoicite, and that is just one among many."  
"What do you feel, Lady Ami?"  
"Sometimes nothing, other times everything. And sometimes emotions unknown completely to me and my people, especially recently."  
Tonight was a special night, the night before his birthday. It was going to be the last day of the full moon tomorrow, but he wasn't paying attention to the phases of the moon anymore, losing some of his scholarly appetite. Zoicite was not looking forward to the swarm of ladies that were going to be deflected from his friends, since they all had women now, and he did not. She appeared on the lake once more, dancing for him, only for him. As the evening drew to a close, she sat on the water as if it were a chair, solid. She smiled at him, bemused, and waited for his daily, or rather nightly, question. And it came, as expected. "Lady Ami, have you a special person in your life?"  
The smile faded. "No, my lord, I do not. I have no brothers or sisters, except a cousin whom I hold dear to me, but the ruler of the skies now holds her heart. I have a great many suitors, none of which care for me. They want the power royalty holds, the type of royalty I have that is different than your's yet the same." With that, Ami disappeared in a flash while he was left to ponder. His strange happiness that she seemed not to have a husband or a man she loved, faded. She was so sad...Little did he know that someone in the bushes was watching them and had been watching for the past two nights.  
~~~*~~~  
Mina bit her lip and tried to decide whether it would be wise to approach him tonight. She knew what his "Lady Ami" was, for her land and heritage was rich in tales and legends. And magic. She knocked on his door and then came in at his greeting, more cheerful than ever yet lacking the will for life. Plain life. He wanted the day to be over with, to live by the water and at night. By the light of the full moon. "Greetings, Zoicite."  
"Hello, Mina. Something the matter?" he asked, one blond eyebrow raised. There seemed to be no one else with her...curious indeed. "No Kunzite, or any of the ladies?"  
She laughed slightly, a tinkling of bells that sounded to him a bit like Ami's but still different. Everything was different about her... "Kunzite, my dear Kunzite, is busy with some paperwork, and I couldn't get him to stop and pay some attention to me. I believe Rei and Jadeite have gone riding, for she has bet that she can beat him on Burning-Bright. And then Endymion and Serenity follow, the former to make sure his little sister doesn't break her neck, the second for the excitement and to follow him. Lita and Nephrite have gone as well, they're racing Storm-Bringer and Aquila. *pause* Yes, something's the matter."  
Putting down his work and taking off his glasses, he examined their dirty lenses and rubbed them clean. "I figured, otherwise you probably would have gone along."  
The Queen of the North nodded, discomfort creeping into her tone. "I-I-I've been, forgive me, Zoi, but I've been spying on you."  
*coolly* "Whatever for, Mina?"  
"Because you've come home every night near sunrise, and the servants say you've been doing that since the full moon started. We're concerned for you, Zoicite, we're your friends."  
Mildly puzzled, Zoicite pushed the bridge of his glasses further up and surveyed her. "I know that. I suppose you've seen her?"  
"Yes, she's a beauty."  
"That she is." If Jadeite had been the one to say so, his statement might have been accompanied by a whistle, but he merely had a hint of longing and sadness.  
"Zoi, she's not what you think."  
Raising both his eyebrows again, Zoicite's emerald eyes took on a closed hardness, shiny, like a mineral or rock. "I barely know what to think. She seems like a sprite, a nymph, a spirit."  
Breath catching in her throat, Mina said earnestly, "But that's what she is. Barely anything but an illusion, a prank of fairies."  
"No. NO! Mina, stop that. What are you trying to say? Ami's wonderful. She thinks, she speaks. She isn't an illusion, she's REAL."  
Sadly, she told him, "You've been bewitched, Zoicite. By a mere illusion."  
Voice and nerves strained, he told her, "Please go. I appreciate the advice, but you don't know Ami like I do. She's a reality. My only light in the darkness, I've always despised my life as a prince."  
Closing the door, on her way out, Mina whispered softly, "You don't know her, either."  
~~~*~~~  
That night, the Prince of the West trudged through the undergrowth and greenery to be greeted by the sight once more. Mina had persuaded Kunzite, who made the other six come along as well, to watch. They now hid in the bushes, and none of the two they were monitoring noticed or heard. Settling down comfortably, Zoicite felt that his nerves had been pushed a bit. There was an odd ring of truth to Mina's words, and he wanted to check. Just to double-check...He didn't bother to wait until she came this time. "Lady Ami, I'd like to ask another question."  
Her luminous blue eyes glinted with grief and sorrow, but she surprised him. "You may ask as many as you like tonight, my lord."  
Without bothering to ask why, the fair-haired prince plunged on. "What are you called? Just Ami?"  
"Not always just plain Ami. The water nymph, sprite, Aquarius in the female form, and I've even been called by weather names. The Lady of the Mists, Commander of the Fog, Wielder of Water, and-and Princess of Ice." Her voice shook on the last words, as did her fingers. They could visibly see the long, slender appendages as she raised them high above her head, tilting her head back to show off a creamy white neck. She was perfect, an immortal perfect that stunned the surveyors.   
"Lady Ami, why are your eyes so sad?"  
Sapphires met emeralds for a breathtaking instant as she replied, in the crystalline tone he yearned to hear during the day and even during the night. "Because I have to leave you tonight, my lord. Forever. And I shall never be able to see you again."  
"Why?? WHY??" The blood pounded furiously in Zoicite's veins, filling his ears with a thumping that alarmed him.  
Sighing, the beautiful lady, more like a girl, sat once more and ignored the gasps. "I'd like to spin you a tale, Prince of the West. Zoicite. Zoi. I want to tell you everything-because I love you, and because I have to go. My father is indeed a king, my mother a queen. They aren't from these realms, and I, who have never showed them disobedience or temper, come and came here secretly each night. It wasn't because of you in the beginning, for I hardly knew you. I still don't, yet I love you, and I don't see how it's possible. But you've prolonged my visits, and my parents will find out soon. It stops tonight, not because of them, but I can't come here anymore when the full moon doth not shine upon these waters."  
Voice shaking, as his entire body was, the prince asked, "A-a-are you really an illusion?"  
"Some call me that. But no, I don't consider myself one. Specter, chimera, apparition, daydream, fantasy, fabrication-"  
"Stop, please."  
Her tone stayed light throughout, and Ami watched the horizon. "It's almost time for me to go. I forgot to tell you another one of my names, though. Mirage. An aqua mirage."  
The sun began coming up, and he demanded, as her form started to shiver uncontrollably,   
"Why can you never see me again? Another full moon will come."  
"I can't live like this, and neither can you, prince of my heart that I can never claim. I'm not a creature of the night, nor am I of the day or light. I come...from the water. I was born from the water. And I control the water. You are of different form than I am, and we could never be together, forever."   
Her words echoed eerily in the mist... "We could never be together, forever...never be together, forever....together forever...forever...never."  
Zoicite tried to seize her around the waist, to keep her from going. He touched nothing, his hands went through her, and they were wet. "Ami...don't go."  
Tears shimmered in her eyes and began falling down her cheeks. "I must....or I shall die. I told you, we can't exist this way. You are of mortal descent, slightly, although your oldest ancestor wasn't. It doesn't matter. It can't matter now."  
Wonderingly, he kissed her, or at least tried to. This made the teardrops come quicker, faster, and more often. "I love you, Prince of the West. Zoicite. Zoi. I love you, Zoi." With one last twinkling, she was gone, her crystalline voice, her perfect features.  
Zoicite's friends came to surround him sympathetically, although their mouths were hanging wide open, incapacitating them of any speech. He shook them off, and on impulse, he leapt into the water, in the last patch of silver moonlight.  
The other four men leapt after him, but after minutes of fruitless searching, Kunzite came up puzzled to tell them (although it was also for air). "He's-he's gone. I mean, there isn't a body, and he couldn't have drifted."  
"Magic," Rei said flatly, purple eyes burning with sadness, with awe, and another loss...  
~~~*~~~  
And from that night forth, on one occasion of the full moon per year, you see a lovely couple dancing across a surface now hidden to the world. Only a few very special people get to glimpse it, but King Endymion and Queen Serenity, King Jadeite and Queen Rei, King Nephrite and Queen Lita, and lastly, King Kunzite and Queen Mina, made sure to journey there every time. For the lucky people glimpsed a handsome, long, curly blond-haired prince bowing and asking his princess to dance. She was blue-eyed and blue-haired, flawless in appearance, and the sadness in her eyes was replaced by love, an emotion she had rarely experienced up until then. And they danced the nights away, for just those days of the full moon, the most perfect couple that had ever been seen, skimming across the surface of the lake. The shining aqua illusions.  
~END~ 


End file.
